The Ghost of You
by Exsanguination13
Summary: Formerly Revolutions. This is something I'm just writing as it comes.Thank you for your time. Chapter 4 is up.
1. Prologue

A figure sat in his chair, lazily staring at the stars outside the view port window at the front of the bridge. He watched for several minutes more, and slowly began dozing off to sleep. Just as his eyes closed, a voice rang upon the speaker system,

"A new message has been sent to you," a polite female voice sounded.

"Ask whom the caller is," the figured lazily replied. A few seconds passed then the voice responded.

"Caller has been positively identified as Jason Myson. He claims to have a message for you,"

"Patch him through then."

The face of a black canine appeared on a large nearby viewscreen.

"Hey, Ethan. Screening your calls again?" The canine chuckled a bit.

"Yeah, whatever, you got a new job for me?"

"No; not this time. Turns out, the bad news is for you this time. Someone has put a hit on _you_."

"What?" Ethan shouted in disbelief. "Why?"

"One of your recent jobs was a major gang leader and they decided to get other hunters on you,"

"Son of a....." He couldn't believe it. He was finally on the receiving end of the barrel. He gulped before forcing out the ext question. "Dead or alive?"

"Either." Ethan let out the breath he held while waiting. At least he had a chance now, but why wouldn't they just want him dead? Probably to "handle" him themselves if they got the chance.

"So... I'm wanted dead or alive, my competition's holding the gun, and I already have trouble sleeping at night. What else is new?"

"You just need to find somewhere to lay low for a while, stay there, and wait until..."

"Until what? They won't give up, this is an invaluable catch! I'm one of the best out there! I'm gone, one less problem for them!"

"Just calm down, there's a reason your one of the best. You've taken you fair share of hits. You can make it."

"Goodbye, Jase." And with that, the screen cut to black, and Ethan was left alone.


	2. Ch 1

Hey, everybody. It's been a while huh? Well, here's how I write. I don't really find deadlines or anything like that. I write when I feel like it, as until now my writing has actually been completely secret. So, I will upload my chapters once I am satisfied enough with them. So I haven't a clue when I'll be done with the next chapter so... yeah. Another thing, I do write as ideas come to me. I may already have the next chapter together, just haven't filled in the gap of the chapter in between. So, I'll get to work on it soon enough.....

* * *

_You know, they say that, in space, no one can hear you scream. What a depressing thought for one living out in the middle of it. _Restless as ever, Ethan was left to his own thoughts as he sat on the side of his bed staring out his window as the blackness that seemed to stretch forever. He had gotten little sleep the previous night, mainly tossing and turning in his usual nightmares. He eventually pushed himself out of bed and shuffled across the room into the bathroom.

After flicking the light switch, he leaned against the counter to stare into the large mirror. Ethan's gaze met that of his reflection, and, like so many mornings before, he examined the figure staring back. Ethan was of lupine heritage, dark grey fur covering his body, with the exception of two black patches: one that started over his left eyebrow and tapered to a point at the back of his head and covered his ear, and one over his midsection that outlined his chest and stomach. He was tall, about six foot three, and in good shape, with neat, toned muscles. His entire body sported more than a few scars, crisscrossing this way and that over his arms, torso, neck and face. The light green eyes that stared back showed years of pain, but accepting apathy.

Raising his head slightly, Ethan muttered, "Computer, where are we?"

The metallic voice rang again, "Arrival over Corneria approximately 2.45 hours ago. Ship has been in orbit since."

"Thank you."

After a quick shower, Ethan changed into a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt with a black hoodie over it. He slipped on his sneakers and walked out of his room down the hallway towards the bridge. Why he had such a large ship only for himself, he didn't know, but then again, he did "indefinitely borrow" it from a former client. He stopped at the end of the hallway and the door in front of him hissed as it slid open, allowing Ethan entry to the bridge. He sat in his chair as he spoke again.

"Get clearance to land,"

"Right away, sir." a few moments, then another voice came through the speakers.

"Ship ID# 324674592, you have been cleared for landing at hanger 437, dock 3b. You may proceed."

After landing, Ethan jogged down the ship's ramp and out of the hanger into the streets of Corneria City. He loved to come here, it had been so long, and for a moment, he forgot he was being hunted by some of the best bounty hunters out there, and just enjoyed himself. He slowed to a walk and looked around at all the animals walking by and the towering buildings so high above. He decided to stop at a nearby restaurant and order a burger. Taking his meal to an outside table, Ethan watched the passersby as he ate. Once finished, he proceeded to throw away the trash and continue his walk.

Ethan continued to wander the city for some time, gazing upon the skyscrapers left and right, occasionally bumping into a pedestrian. Unfortunately, though, eventually he began to get one of his "feelings"; he usually took these as something bad, and they had saved his ass more than a few times in the past. Quickly ducking down to hide himself in the crowd, Ethan sidestepped into an alley and slid down behind a dumpster. Sure enough, moments later, another figure dove into the alley, eyes searching back and forth. Neither of them, however, noticed the fox standing across the street, looking on with interest.

Ethan peeked from the shadows to see his follower, but as soon as he did, a shot from the other's silenced pistol flew by, grazing his face.

"Come on out! Let's not make this difficult for either of us!" The figure in the alley shouted.

Ethan recognized the voice as a familiar cat, another hunter, and shouted back from around the dumpster.

"Kale, you bastard, what are you doing here? You're a bit far from home aren't you?"

"I tracked you here, now I'll collect your price, whether or not I have to kill you!"

Ethan reached down to his belt, only to realize that he had left his blaster on the ship, not expecting this kind of thing to happen. He tried to look around again, dodging yet another bolt, and only glimpsed a second figure charging toward Kale from behind. He heard a thud, then looked again. An orange vulpine had pinned Kale on his stomach and, hearing Ethan move out from his shelter, looked up at him.

"Umm, thanks, I guess. Didn't think I would get caught up here, or that someone would actually come to help."

The fox looked up at Ethan then back down at the cat he still knelt over, arms bent back behind.

"I suppose you two know each other?" The vulpine asked, a slight grin on his face. Kale struggled a bit, and his head was slammed into the ground to stop him.

"You could say that. Long story short, he wants to kill me." Ethan stared down at the incapacitated feline, a subtle aggravation in his voice.

Ethan bent down and grabbed the blaster that had fallen from Kale's hand when he was tackled.

"Nice... He's modded it a bit, But it's recognizable. Not bad..." Ethan looked back at his foe, then at the weapon again. "Don't think he'll need it anymore,"

As the vulpine stood up, Ethan held out his hand. "Name's Ethan, by the way,"

The fox took his hand and shook it. "Fox McCloud."


	3. Ch 2

Author's note: So.... I don't know what to say. To the maybe three people that read this, I'm going to be completely honest with you. Don't expect any chapters on a regular basis. It's been months, the next chapter comes as fast as I bother writing it. I'm busy with my own little world, totally my problem. And I'm sledom motivated to write unless it's three in the morning like now. So here's how it works. If you like this story, Read. If you like it enough, wait. I made a promise to myself, I'm finishing THIS one. So sorry if you don't want to read it like this, with random updates like this. I want to write as a hobby, I don't want it to turn into an obligation. Thanks, my couple of reviewers.

P.S. I'm still sorry about Chapter 2. It was just wrong, but I like it better now. Please reread it if you haven't yet. The story changed a bit.

P.P.S. No more one pages for me! This one was two pages!! lol. Really, that's one reason this may take a while.

* * *

"F-Fox McCloud? Don't think I've ever met someone with such fame, maybe infamy, but that's another story. So, uh..." Ethan simply stuttered, even he was a bit nervous meeting the hero of Lylat. "What would you be doing here?"

"I have an apartment here in the city now. Ever since the team broke up..."

Ethan hadn't heard much regarding Star Fox in a few years. Naturally, this startled him a bit.

"Broke up? What happened?" He almost shouted.

"Well... come on, I'll tell you on the way."

"Where are we going?"

"You wouldn't happen to know why that guy's after you, would you?"

"I killed someone important in the criminal underworld, and his friends kind of.... want me to know the feeling," Ethan shrugged.

"Bounty hunter? Don't get many of those around here. Speaking of which, I'll call the authorities to handle this guy. What brings you all the way out here?"

"Like I said, They want me dead, so I came here. I like the city, hard to find someone in a place like this."

"Apparently not. Anyway, who hired the ones like this guy to take you out?"

Ethan's expression dropped. He hadn't really thought about that, he really had no idea. "Um.. I, er, didn't look into that... why?"

"Would this help any?" Fox held up a holorecord. "I bet this would have, if not who it is, a clue where to find them."

Ethan nodded as they started to walk off.

"So, where are we going?"

"My apartment. I have access to the military's records, I think I can at least find you a start."

"Thanks. Now what happened to the team? I was last around about a year or so after that whole Dinosaur Planet thing and everything was fine.. By the way, did they ever come up with a better name for that?"

Fox chuckled a bit. "Yeah, Sauria. Has a better ring, eh? The team..." He then began to explain the last few years, including the Aparoids and the separation of Star Fox. He merely mentioned that Krystal left the team. He then described the Anglar invasion and the aftermath. "...The team didn't last long after that. Slippy found himself a family, and went back to his fiancée on Aquas. And though Falco won't like to admit it, I think Katt finally got him to settle down,"

"What about Krystal?" The two stopped their walk. Fox stared towards the ground, silent.

"Right. Sorry about that. I suppose it's a touchy subject," After a few moments, they began walking again. They soon reached an apartment complex and walked up some stairs to number 17. Fox unlocked the door and lead Ethan inside.

"What do you plan on doing with that disc?" Ethan inquired as Fox pulled the holorecord from his pocket and taking it to a computer in the corner of the room.

"Well, if I take this and insert it into my computer...." Fox replied as he did so. "Then access records, any files on-disc..." Ethan watched this over Fox's shoulder as he typed away, scanning through the files. At one point, he stopped Fox, pointing to something.

"Wait, look. These don't look like they were recorded and given as orders, so to speak. It's more like they recorded a transmission, like to a ship,"

"Right. And it should have recorded the location the transmission's source.... Perfect! It came from an on-planet building, much easier to find." Fox read through the statistics, pointing out the coordinates.

"And that planet would be?"

"Kew."

"And if I go there, It's open season on my ass." Ethan stepped back and took a deep breath.

"You going?"

"Hell, I have to. It's either that or wait for them to finally catch me. I can't fight off every bounty hunter out there. But I'm not stupid. I'll be here for a few days before I do anything."

"Yeah. Best to prepare yourself instead of diving headlong into death. Here," Fox said as he slid a sheet of paper and pen towards Ethan, "I'll tell you if I find anything else."

Ethan scribbled down his comm number and and hangar location then started towards the door. "Thanks, really. I gotta go. This won't be easy, I need to get ready."

Fox looked at the note as Ethan left. He read over the numbers, and then looked at the name. Ethan had written his last name as well. It was Kalyn.

"Ethan Kalyn... I know I've heard of you before..."


	4. Ch 3

Well, Hello again. Better late than just leave my few readers hanging. (By the way, I absolutely hate when authors leave their faithful readers without any kind of closure with the story. If I can make an ending from it, I will. When I can't, then I get pissed.) Anyway.......... I did write pieces of other chapters, one reason this one took a while. No doubt the next one will take some time too. I changed the name, for three reasons, two of which would ruin the story should they be revealed. the third simply is, It sounds cooler and more interesting. So say goodbye to Revolutions and Hello to The Ghost of You. Enjoy.

* * *

Ethan sat on the bridge of his ship, again staring out through the large front windows at the planet below him.. He held the blaster he had taken from Kale, carefully looking it over. It had been two days, but still nothing from Fox, and he still hadn't a clue as to his plan. He knew two things: his only chance at getting his bounty off was to go to Kew, and he was pretty much dead whether or not he went.

He pulled up the nearby keyboard attached to the captain's seat and pressed several keys. He paused for a moment and pressed a few more. The screen in front of him crackled to life, and a few moments later, a canine appeared on screen.

"Ethan? What's-"

"Jase," Ethan interrupted, holding up a hand. "I'm going to Kew. I found them."

"What are you, insane? What do you think you'll accomplish by getting yourself murdered out there?"

"Well, I thought I'd go 'negotiate' my bounty with the ones that set it. Better than waiting to die."

"Ethan, I've known you quite some time. Just long enough to know I'm not changing your mind. But I'm sure this won't end well... What is that?"

"Remember Kale? Well, we met up and he left it with me. He's not dead though, I think.. Nice blaster, huh? A few mods, but I like it." Ethan held up the blaster for Jason to get a better look.

"Look, I know you're going to go through with this, and there's not much I can say to you. Just... just try not to die, okay?"

A smile crept across Ethan's face. "Not good with words, like always. Great advice, though, I think I might just try that. I'll be leaving by tomorrow, I'll call when I'm done, thought you might like to hear the news that I haven't kicked it. See ya then," He said, adding a slightly sarcastic wave.

"Don't do anything stupid." The line cut, and just minutes later another caller was announced. The call was patched through to reveal none other than Fox McCloud.

"Ethan? I assume you still plan on going to Kew? Speaking of which, you look pretty damn happy for a dead man," Fox said in reaction to the smile across Ethan's face.

"Eh, I have my ways. And yeah, I'm still going. Why, did you find out anything else?"

"Nothing immediately relevant. I'd like to ask a favor of you, actually."

"Yeah, sure, what do you need?"

"I would like to accompany you to Kew. The Great Fox is gone, and I can't get there in my arwing. That is, if you wouldn't mind lending me a hand."

"Fox, you have no idea. That is the least I could do for you. My ship's still in orbit. Just come on up when you're ready."

"Thanks a lot. I guess I'll see you soon." The connection closed, and Ethan stood up and walked off down the hall, mumbling to himself.

"Yeah, Fox. You really have no idea..."

* * *

A few hours passed before the intercom sounded in the kitchen, where Ethan had been for quite some time.

"_A ship has requested to dock. Ship model: Arwing Mk. II, pilot identified as Fox McCloud."_

"Let him in. Tell him I'll be right down." Ethan pushed himself out of his chair and started off toward the docking bay. The silence of the hallway was only broken by each individual, echoing thud of boots as Ethan walked. The walk seemed to last forever. He wondered to himself, as he had so many times before, why he used such a ship. It was your standard cruiser, compared to the Great Fox, only slightly smaller. Living in a large ship such as this wouldn't have been as strange had he not been entirely alone aboard. Despite the fact that he had "confiscated" it from a former client, it could have simply sold for more than enough credits for a smaller ship.

Ethan broke from his thoughts as he realized that he had reached the docking bay. The door slid open, revealing one of the ship's largest rooms, containing various tools and parts, Ethan's personal fighter, and an arwing that had just landed. The cockpit covering lifted from the arwing, and a vulpine jumped down, making his way towards Ethan.

"Thanks again for helping me out here."

"Like I said, it's the least I could do. But I was wondering, isn't there a way you could get there without me? I mean you _are_ just the hero of Lylat."

"Let's just say this is... 'personal' business. Besides, maybe I could help you, too," Fox said as he lifted a bag out of his arwing's storage compartment.

"We'll call it that, then. Getting to Kew's going to take a few days, and I'm sure you'll want to sleep, so I'll show you your room." The wolf began walking off, signaling for Fox to follow. They walked for sometime, and at a certain hallway, Ethan pointed out,

"These are the crew quarters. That one," He said pointing to one door. "is my room. And this one," he said, stopping to peek inside another, "will be yours. Sorry if it's a bit dusty, it hasn't been used in quite some time. But everything still works, as far as utilities."

Fox stepped into the room, setting down his bag and examining the simple furnishings. Bed, nightstand, a simple closet, nothing fancy. He looked back to the lupine in the doorway. "And you stay here alone?"

"Yeah. Well, this ship isn't exactly mine, but the guy didn't need it anymore," Ethan shrugged. "So, might I ask what this 'personal business' of yours is?"

"Looking for someone. And some info I found on that device points to Kew."

"Ah. Well, I've got to check up on a few of the ship's systems, and now that you're here, it's about time we start this journey. So, get yourself settled in, the computer can give you directions to the kitchen or wherever you'd like." Fox nodded, and picked up his bag again, setting it on the bed and started going through it. Ethan turned and started down the hall. Once on the bridge, he took his regular seat and called out to the computer, "Begin systems diagnostics and maintenance. Once finished, give me a full report and at my word, we're going to Kew.

"_Right away."_

After about an hour and a quick tour of the ship, Fox found himself in the kitchen. As the doors slid open, he looked straight to a nearby table, Where Ethan had been sitting. He was bent over the table, resting on his elbows, an open beer bottle next to him. He was twiddling something between his fingers. As Fox entered, without looking up, the lupine spoke quietly.

"Want a drink or something? Help yourself,"

"Thanks," Fox said as he crossed the room to the fridge, opening it up and retrieving a beer from a shelf. He walked to the table Ethan was at and sat across from him. Now he could easily see what was in Ethan's hand. It was a ring, with a silver base and inlaid with dark blue stone, encircling the band. Small, strange symbols made from the same silver decorated the stone. The ring was secured by a chain around Ethan's neck. "So..." Fox began, but was quickly cut off.

"I got it from someone special." Fox was clearly confused, but also leaned in a bit with curiosity. "Yeah, she was real important," Ethan sighed, never taking his eyes off of the ring.

"What happened?" Fox asked A few moments of silence, then the wolf finally made eye contact.

"You really want to know? It'll take a while,"

Fox looked at the ring, then to Ethan again. "I've got time. But first, could I ask you a question?"

The lupine's ears perked a bit as he answered, "Sure. Go ahead."

"I know I'm Fox McCloud, I'm famous and everything, but despite that, I'm still a stranger. But you, you welcomed me aboard, did me a favor of such magnitude. Why?"

"Conveniently, part of the story. I just felt I owed it to him."

* * *

P.S. 5 (virtual) Bucks to the first one to figure out where I got the idea for the story title.


End file.
